I am a EE student, and I basically realized midway through my course that, well.... engineering sucks . i didnt particularly like the EE programs offered by most universities and while looking for interesting programs in physics, i found one which seems to be tailor made for me, the applied physics program at harvard. I havent yet gone through the prof profiles to see what sort of actual research comes out of harvard, but Im sure its safe to assume I would find at least a few groups there which would excite me. So my liking for the program is based solely on what they would actually be teaching me during an MS ( as opposed to what I may do with all that they teach me during a Phd )the only problem is that an admit to harvard of course, is not easy to get. So, I wanted to know if you guys could help me find a similar alternative program.

Check this page out. Except for the geophysics part of the program, I have harbored a serious interest in EACH AND EVERY ONE of the other topics listed there. Please let me know if you've come across a program you think I would enjoy based on this page.

Cornell also has an applied physics program. There are others that I can't remember right now. Also realize that it is very interdisciplinary now. You could apply to an EE PhD program and find a physics prof willing to pay you and do research over there. Also, tons of EE's are in the nanofab and such labs right now doing the same work as the physicists. Do at a little more reading, visit Harvard's pages for the actual facilities where the lab work is done and look at who is doing the research. Lots come from EE, and it is the same stuff. Of course, you said the courses were what interested you and not the research, but if it isn't about the research for you then you need a masters, not a PhD, because a PhD is all about the research.

thanks grae, already started going through the Harvard pages. basically, I was looking for names of universities where there is extensive overlap between the physics and ee departments, since im looking to apply to the ee department and move over to physics , just as you suggested.

rohan wrote:thanks grae, already started going through the Harvard pages. basically, I was looking for names of universities where there is extensive overlap between the physics and ee departments, since im looking to apply to the ee department and move over to physics , just as you suggested.

ooooh ok, gocha! well I know I came across several but I don't know anything off the top of my head. But yeah, each school will have their research centers, and each will have a page with the professors that do research there and what departments they come from. Start visiting the pages of the laboratory facilities that are doing the research that interests you, and see how many of the profs are coming from physics and how many are coming from EE. In the right areas, there are usually tons of EE's doing almost the exact same research as the physicists!